Group A of this year's old-school Canadian Open Downhill (OG CDN OPN DH) was highlighted by the pros, with Luke Meier-Smith and Mille Johnset authoring victories in that department. Junior riders competed side by side with their older peers as Benny De Vall and Indy Deavoll ascended to glory.
De Vall's time (2:52.263) was fast enough for ninth overall, launching him ahead of silver medallist Tyler Waite (2:52.470) and Anthony Shelly who earned bronze (2:52.567).
"I'm really happy with my performance," De Vall said. "Track got way looser from yesterday, lots of changing conditions since the rain three days ago and I'm really happy with my riding. Even though [the OG venue] hasn't been raced in three years, they did a lot of changes last year, I believe, and then they let it open to the public so it was still really rough. The goal was just to go as fast as I can and not break a wheel."
Meanwhile, Deavoll ended up third overall (3:17.331) with a nice lead over her closest rival, Zanna Logar (3:21.263). Logar's fellow American, Kelly Swarens, rounded out the podium (3:29.441).
"Yeah, that was a really good run from me," remarked Deavoll, who has gained bundles of experience since her previous trip to Whistler last July. "I just have been loving this track all weekend, so I'm really happy to put a good run down. I had fun on my bike and chose my lines and stayed with it."
Sea to Sky fans are likely excited to see Shelly (a.k.a. Tony Shreddy) join his fellow local De Vall for a podium outing. Shelly is both talented and versatile, having won snowboard cross silver at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics in Gangwon, South Korea. He voiced the hope that his OG DH result is a positive sign of things to come.
Both junior champions are pleased to be a part of Crankworx Whistler's 20th anniversary.
"It means a lot [to win in front of my home crowd]," stated De Vall. "Couldn't ask for more. I've been coming here since I was able to race the youngest category, so it's really cool to see Crankworx grow and grow every year."
Deavoll, who lives in New Zealand, added: "This means so much to me. It's so cool to me that I can be up there [with a number of other fast girls]."
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